Haplogroup J-M304, also known as J*,[Phylogenetics 1] is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is believed to have evolved in Western Asia.ref Possible time of origin 48,000 years agoref and the main current subgroups J-M267 and J-M172, which now comprise between them almost all of the haplogroup’s descendant lineages, are both believed to have arisen very early, at least 10,000 years ago. Y-DNA haplogroup J1, defined by the SNP mutation M267, is estimated to be approximately 20 thousand years old and is thought to have originated somewhere between Anatolia and Mesopotamia. ref Haplogroup J-M304 is found in its greatest concentration in the Arabian peninsula. Outside of this region, haplogroup J-M304 has a significant presence in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. It also has a moderate occurrence in Southern Europe, especially in central and southern Italy, Malta, Greece and Albania. The J-M410 subclade is mostly distributed in Anatolia, Greece and southern Italy. Additionally, J-M304 is observed in Central Asia and South Asia, particularly in the form of its subclade J-M172. J-12f2 and J-P19 are also found among the Herero (8%).ref The basal haplogroup J*(xJ1, J2) is found at its highest frequencies among the Soqotri (71.4%).

Haplogroup J2 is thought to have appeared somewhere in the Middle East towards the end of the last glaciation, between 15,000 and 22,000 years ago. The oldest known J2a samples at present were identified in remains from the Hotu Cave in northern Iran, dating from 9100-8600 BCE (Lazaridis et al. 2016), and from Kotias Klde in Georgia, dating from 7940-7600 BCE (Jones et al. (2015)). This confirms that haplogroup J2 was already found around the Caucasus and the southern Caspian region during the Mesolithic period. The first appearance of J2 during the Neolithic came in the form of a 10,000 year-old J2b sample from Tepe Abdul Hosein in north-western Iran in what was then the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (Broushaki et al. 2016).

Notwithstanding its strong presence in West Asia today, haplogroup J2 does not seem to have been one of the principal lineages associated with the rise and diffusion of cereal farming from the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia to Europe. It is likely that J2 men had settled over most of Anatolia, the South Caucasus and Iran by the end of the Last Glaciation 12,000 years ago. It is possible that J2 hunter-gatherers then goat/sheep herders also lived in the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic period, although the development of early cereal agriculture is thought to have been conducted by men belonging primarily to haplogroups G2a (northern branch, from Anatolia to Europe), as well as E1b1b and T1a (southern branch, from the Levant to the Arabian peninsula and North Africa).

Mathieson et al. (2015) tested the Y-DNA of 13 Early Neolithic farmers from the Barcın site (6500-6200 BCE) in north-western Anatolia, and only one of them belonged to haplogroup J2a. Lazaridis et al. (2016) tested 44 ancient Near Eastern samples, including Neolithic farmers from Jordan and western Iran, but only the above-mentioned sample from Mesolithic Iran belonged to J2. Likewise, over 100 Y-DNA samples have been tested from Neolithic Europe, covering most of the important cultures, and only two J2 sample was found, in the Sopot and Proto-Lengyel cultures in Hungary, dating from 7,000 years ago. J2 was also absent from all Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Indo-European cultures, apart from one J2a1b sample in Hungary dating from the end of the Bronze Age (c. 1150 BCE, see Gamba et al. 2014), in the minor Kyjatice culture, an offshoot of the Urnfield culture, which differs from typical Indo-European cultures by its use of cremation instead of single-grave burials.

No Neolithic sample from Central or South Asia has been tested to date, but the present geographic distribution of haplogroup J2 suggests that it could initially have dispersed during the Neolithic from the Zagros mountains and northern Mesopotamia across the Iranian plateau to South Asia and Central Asia, and across the Caucasus to Russia (Volga-Ural). The first expansion probably correlated with the diffusion of domesticated of cattle and goats (starting c. 8000-9000 BCE), rather than with the development of cereal agriculture in the Levant.

A second expansion would have occured with the advent of metallurgy. J2 could have been the main paternal lineage of the Kura-Araxes culture (Late Copper to Early Bronze Age), which expanded from the southern Caucasus toward northern Mesopotamia and the Levant. After that J2 could have propagated through Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean with the rise of early civilizations during the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age.

Quite a few ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilisations flourished in territories where J2 lineages were preponderant. This is the case of the Hattians, the Hurrians, the Etruscans, the Minoans, the Greeks, the Phoenicians (and their Carthaginian offshoot), the Israelites, and to a lower extent also the Romans, the Assyrians and the Persians. All the great seafaringcivilisations from the middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age were dominated by J2 men.

There is a distinct association of ancient J2 civilisations with bull worship. The oldest evidence of a cult of the bull can be traced back to Neolithic central Anatolia, notably at the sites of Çatalhöyük and Alaca Höyük. Bull depictions are omnipresent in Minoan frescos and ceramics in Crete. Bull-masked terracotta figurines and bull-horned stone altars have been found in Cyprus (dating back as far as the Neolithic, the first presumed expansion of J2 from West Asia). The Hattians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Canaaites, and Carthaginians all had bull deities (in contrast with Indo-European or East Asian religions). The sacred bull of Hinduism, Nandi, present in all temples dedicated to Shiva or Parvati, does not have an Indo-European origin, but can be traced back to Indus Valley civilisation. Minoan Crete, Hittite Anatolia, the Levant, Bactria and the Indus Valley also shared a tradition of bull leaping, the ritual of dodging the charge of a bull. It survives today in the traditional bullfighting of Andalusia in Spain and Provence in France, two regions with a high percentage of J2 lineages.

The world’s highest frequency of J2 is found among the Ingush (88% of the male lineages) and Chechen (56%) people in the Northeast Caucasus. Both belong to the Nakh ethnic group, who have inhabited that territory since at least 3000 BCE. Their language is distantly related to Dagestanian languages, but not to any other linguistic group. However, Dagestani peoples (Dargins, Lezgins, Avars) belong predominantly to haplogroup J1 (84% among the Dargins) and almost completely lack J2 lineages. Other high incidence of haplogroup J2 are found in many other Caucasian populations, including the Azeri (30%), the Georgians (27%), the Kumyks (25%), and the Armenians (22%). Nevertheless, it is very unlikely that haplogroups J2 originated in the Caucasus because of the low genetic diversity in the region. Most Caucasian people belong to the same CTS6804subclade and share a common patrilineal ancestor who lived some 7,500 years ago, at the time of the Neolithic expansion to the Caucasus.

The Chechens and Ingushs belong almost exclusively to the Y7800 clade, which formed only 2,000 years ago and has a TMRCA of approximately 1,500 years. The high local frequencies observed would rather be the result of founder effects, for instance the proliferation of chieftains and kings’s lineages through a long tradition of polygamy, a practice that the Russians have tried to suppress since their conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century.

Outside the Caucasus, the highest frequencies of J2 are observed in Cyprus (37%), Crete (34%), northern Iraq (28%), Lebanon (26%), Turkey (24%, with peaks of 30% in the Marmara region and in central Anatolia), Greece (23%), Central Italy (23%), Sicily (23%), South Italy (21.5%), and Albania (19.5%), as well as among Jewish people (19 to 25%).

One fourth of the Vlach people (isolated communities of Romance language speakers in the Balkans) belong to J2, considerably more than the average of Macedonia and northern Greece where they live. This, combined to the fact that they speak a language descended from Latin, suggests that they could have a greater part of Roman (or at least Italian) ancestry than other ethnic groups in the Balkans.

It is very likely that J2a, J1-Z1828, L1b, T1a-P77 and G2a-L293 were the dominant male lineages the Early Bronze Age Kura-Araxes culture (3,400-2,000 BCE), which expanded from the South Caucasus to eastern Anatolia, northern Mesopotamia and the western Iran. From then on, J2 men would have definitely have represented a sizeable portion of the population of Bronze and Iron Age civilizations such as the Hurrians, the Assyrians or the Hittites. It is very possible that bronze technology spread from the South Caucasus across the Iranian plateau until the Indus Valley, giving rise to the Harappan Civilisation (see below).

The Minoan civilisation emerged from 2,700 BCE and could have been founded by colonists from the Kura-Araxes culture who would have brought bronze working with them. Modern Cretans have the highest percentage of G2a (11%), J1 (8.5%), J2a (32%), and L + T (2.5% together) in Greece (and the highest percentage of J1 and J2a in all Europe for that matter), the three haplogroups associated with the Kura-Araxes culture. Although little data is available at present about deep clades in Crete or Aegean Greece, the parts of Italy that were colonised by Ionic and Doric Greeks, notably Sicily, Calabria and Basilicata, possess substantial percentages of typically Caucasian haplogroups, such as G2a-L297, J1-Z1828 and J2a-L581, as well as considerable levels of Middle Eastern and Caucasian autosomal admixture by European standards. In fact, it seems that many branches of J2a (e.g. M319, Z7671, F3133, Z6046, L581) may have expanded from the South Caucasus from the Chalcolithic onwards. The presence of these haplogroups and admixtures in southern Italy almost certainly represent Kura-Araxes ancestry inherited from Minoan Greeks from the Aegean islands.

The Phoenicians, Jews, Greeks and Romans all contributed to the presence of J2a in Iberia. The particularly strong frequency of J2a and other Near Eastern haplogroups (J1, E1b1b, T) in the south of the Iberian peninsula, suggest that the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians played a more decisive role than other peoples. This makes sense considering that they were the first to arrive, founded the greatest number of cities (including Gadir/Cadiz, Iberia’s oldest city), and their settlements match almost exactly the zone where J2 is found at a higher frequency in southern Andalusia.

The high incidence of J2a in Italy is owed in great part to the migration of the Etruscans from western Anatolia to central and northern Italy, and to the Greek colonisation of southern Italy. However both the Etruscans and Greeks would have carried many other Y-DNA lineages, including G2a, J1, R1b-Z2103, T1a, and probably also E-M34. J2a levels would have been higher among the Greeks than the Etruscans, and particularly among the insular Greeks that colonised Magna Graecia. Immigration from the eastern Mediterranean to Rome during the Roman Empire, then from Anatolia, Thrace and Greece during the Byzantine period (particularly in north-eastern Italy) further increased the incidence of J2 in the peninsula.

Several common Italian J2a subclades are found mainly in the south of Italy (M319, M92, Z467, Z7671, all under L558) and are likely to be of Greek origin. The highest concentrations of J2a in Europe are found in Crete (32% of the population) and Calabria (26%). M319, one of the principal J2a1 subclades in Greece, Italy and Western Europe, reaches is maximum frequency in Crete (6-9%).

Roman J2a1-Z435

The Romans probably helped spread haplogroup J2 within their borders, judging from the distribution of J2 within Europe (frequency over 5%), which bears an uncanny resemblance to the borders of the Roman Empire (once concessions are made for the Germanic invasions that appear to have lowered the frequency of J2 between Belgium and Switzerland). There is a high diversity of J2a in Italy, but the most common branch found all over the peninsula and therefore most likely linked with a Roman diffusion is L70, and particularly its subclade Z435. All L70 carriers today descend from a single patrilineal ancestor who lived about 5,000 years ago. This corresponds to the time when the Proto-Indo-Europeans started invading Central Europe from the Pontic Steppe. It is not yet clear where J2-L70 was located at the time. It could have been present in the Steppe and tagged along the predominantly R1b branch of the Proto-Indo-Europeans that moved to the Balkans and Central Europe. Or it could have been one of the lineages of Chalcolithic Southeast and Central Europe. A third alternative is that L70 originated in Anatolia or Greece and moved to Italy with the migration that gave rise to the Etruscan civilisation.

Z435 was formed about 3,600 years ago and has a TMRCA of only 3,100 years (± 300 years). The latter corresponds roughly to the timing of the invasion of Italian peninsula by Italic tribes from the Alps. Z435 has numerous subclades of its own, and most have been identified in central Italy. This could either mean that Z435 was one of the founding Italic lineages, or that it was already in Italy and was assimilated by the Italic tribes. The PF5456 subclade is barely 2500 years old, and would have emerged and propagated after the founding of Rome. Outside Italy, it is now found in such varied places as Portugal, Spain, France, Britain, Belgium, southern Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Tunisia or Lebanon, all regions colonised by the Romans. Z2177, another subclade of Z435, is a bit under 3,000 years old. It has various subclades of its own which are scattered today around Italy (northern Italy, Tuscany, Latium, Sicily, Sardinia) and in places like Switzerland, south-west Germany, Britain, Spain, Romania, Greece, Turkey and Syria – also all these regions were part of the Roman Empire. Italy has by far the highest concentration of Z2177 of any country.

J2a in Central & South Asia: the Harappan and Oxus Civilizations

Within the Indian subcontinent, J2a peaks at frequencies of 15-25% around the Indo-Pakistani border, from Punjab to Gujarat and Sindh. This region matches exactly the confines of the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilisation, that existed from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE and which practised bull worship like other J2a civilizations. Bronze started being used by the Harappan Civilization circa 3000 BCE, a few centuries after its earliest known regular use around the Caucasus by the Maykop culture (from 3700 BCE) and the Kura–Araxes culture (from 3500 BCE). While the Maykop culture was closely linked to the Yamnaya culture in the Pontic-Caspian Steppe and is thought to be associated with Proto-Indo-European speakers and Y-haplogroups R1a and R1b, the Kura-Araxes culture would have allowed the diffusion of Y-haplogroup J1 and J2a around the Middle East, taking over the Neolithic societies primarily associated with Y-haplogroup G2a and G2b.

Archeological evidence of a massive migration from the southern Caucasus to the Indus Valley is elusive at present, but it cannot be excluded as it has been proven now that large-scale Indo-European migrations took place during the same period from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe to Europe and Central Asia. There is no reason to believe that J2a people from the Kura-Araxes culture couldn’t have expanded in the same way westward toward Anatolia, Greece and Italy and eastward to Iran, southern central Asia, Pakistan, India.

There is another cluster of J2a with a frequency approximating 15% in Bactria, in southern-central Asia, in what is now northern Afghanistan, eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan. This region corresponds to the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex(BMAC), also known as the Oxus civilization, which flourished between 2300 and 1700 BCE. Oxen were used to draw wheeled carts and camels were domesticated in this region c. 2500 BCE, just before the start of this civilization. The BMAC was eventually overrun by the Indo-Iranian migrations from the Andronovo culture and the Sintashta culture further north, and became Indo-Europeanized. The Indo-Aryans pursued their southward expansion, invading northern Pakistan and northwest India from 1800 BCE to 1500 BCE, and eventually bringing about the demise of the Indus Valley Civilisation around 1300 BCE.

There is a wide variety of J2a branches found in South Asia. Some are over 10,000 years old (CTS6002, F3133, M68, M319, PF5174, Z6065) could have migrated from West to South Asia during the Neolithic, Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age. Based on their phylogeographies, F3133 and M319 could be associated with the Kura-Araxes expansion. Y21500 has a TMRCA of 3700 years and is also found in Russia, which suggests an Indo-Aryan origin – perhaps one of the J2a1 subclades assimilated by R1a invaders in Central Asia before conquering the Indian subcontinent. A few much younger clades are also found in western India and Pakistan, such as L534 (TMRCA 2,800 ybp) and YSC246 (TMRCA 1,750 ybp) and would have come to India in historical times, for example with the Mughals.

J2b1: West Asian Copper & Bronze Age

Today J2b1 is most common in the western Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia) and Cyprus. It is also found in above 1% of the population in parts of southern Italy (Calabria, Apulia), the Peloponnese in Greece, Lebanon, Jordan, eastern Turkey, Armenia and Iran. The oldest samples recovered so far were from Early Bronze Age Jordan (c. 2400 BCE, Lazaridis et al. (2016)) and Late Bronze Age Lebanon (Canaanite burial from Sidon, Haber et al. (2017)). It was also found in an Egyptian mummy (c. 660 BCE, Schuenemann et al. (2017)).

J2b1’s origins remain unclear, but it probably originated in the South Caucasus and/or Iran and might have spread to the Levant, Cyprus and Greece with the Kura-Araxes culture during the Bronze Age. The branch found in the western Balkans (Y22069) is distinct from the East Mediterranean and Caucasian branch. It seems to have formed 6,000 years ago, but its TMRCA is very young at 900 years before present, suggesting a medieval founder effect.

J2b2-L283: from Neolithic Iran to the Indo-Europeans

J2b has a quite different distribution from J2a. At first sight, the modern distribution of J2b seems to have a stronger association with the Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures of Southeast Europe. Yet, at present, J2b has never been found in Neolithic, Chalcolithic, nor even Bronze Age Europe, nor in the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic or Chalcolithic. J2b is also absent from western and central Anatolia, but is present in eastern Anatolia and western Iran, as well as in the Volga-Ural region, notably among the Mordvins, Chuvashs and Tatars. The oldest known J2b sample comes from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Tepe Abdul Hosein in western Iran, dating from approximately 10,000 years ago. This is the strongest evidence that J2b actually originated in the mountains of the Zagros or the Caucasus, rather than in the plains of the Fertile Crescent.

The vast majority of J2b lineages belong to J2b2 and its subclades. While J2b* and J2b1 lineages are mostly restricted to the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and the Balkans, J2b2 is found throughout Europe, in the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, in Central Asia and in South Asia, particularly in India. Although J2b2 itself was formed 14,000 years ago, almost all European J2b2 members belong to the L283 branch and share a common patrilineal ancestor who lived 6,000 years ago. What’s more, 99% of them fall under the Z628 (aka Z597) clade, with a shared common ancestor who lived only 4,500 years ago. This Z628 clade is also found in India, Armenia and the Levant, among others.

The most likely hypothesis is that J2b2a1 (L283) penetrated into the Pontic Steppe region during the Neolithic or Chalcolithic period, by crossing the Caucasus from western Iran, then migrated to the Volga-Ural region, where it was absorbed by the R1a-Z93 tribes in the Early Bronze Age. As a minor lineage within the R1a-Z93 dominant populations, it would have expanded from the Volga-Ural region to Central and South Asia with the Indo-Aryan invasions approximately from 4,300 to 3,500 years ago. Other J2b lineages could have ended up in the Balkans during a number of Steppe invasions from the Bronze Age until the Middle Ages.

Another conceivable possibility is that a minority of J2b2-L283 accompanied R1b-M269 from the Caucasus region and migrated to the Volga-Ural region in the early Bronze Age, propagating with them the Proto-Indo-European language and bronze technology to the Caspian steppe before the expansion of this new culture to Central and South Asia. The drawback of this hypothesis is that it doesn’t explain why R1b lineages strongly outnumber J2b2 in Europe but not in South Asia.

The oldest J2b2-L283 sample recovered among ancient DNA samples is a Late Bronze Age (1700-1500 BCE) individual from southern Croatia (Mathieson et al. 2017). His genome possessed about 30% of Steppe admixture and 15% of Eastern Hunter-Gatherer, which suggest a recent arrival from the Steppe. He was accompanied by a woman with similar admixtures, and both possessed typical Pontic-Caspian Steppe mtDNA (I1a1 and W3a). The timing, location and admixtures of these samples fit with the Illyrian colonisation of the Dinaric Alps, which is thought to have taken place between 1600 and 1100 BCE. The Illyrians may have been late Steppe migrants from the Volga region that were forced out of the Steppe by the invasion of the northern R1a tribes who established the Srubna culture (from 2000 BCE). Through a founding effect, J2b2-L283 lineages might have considerably increased their original frequency after reaching Illyria.

Both J2b1 and J2b2-L283 are also found at high frequency in Greece and in regions that used to be part of the ancient Greek world (Ionia, Magna Graecia). However they are almost absent from Crete (where J2a1 lineages are dominant). J2b was also not found among Neolithic Anatolian or European farmers, and is absent from central Anatolia. This suggests that J2b was not associated with the Neolithic Greeks nor with the Minoan civilisation, but may well have come to Greece with the Mycenaeans, who also appear to have been pushed out of the Steppe by the advance of the Srubna culture. As a result, both the Illyrians and the Mycenaeans (and possibly the Albanians) would be descended from Middle to Late Bronze Age Steppe migrants to the Southeast Europe, in a migration that was particularly rich in J2b lineages from the Middle Volga region. That would explain why it has been so hard to identify R1a or R1b lineages that could be of Illyrian or Mycenaean origin. The only variety of R1b that is found at reasonably high frequencies in Southeast Europe, and particularly in Greece, is R1b-Z2103, the branch found in the eastern Yamna culture, including the Volga-Ural region.

J2b2-Z2432: West Asian Neolithic expansion to South Asia

The other main J2b2 subclade is Z2432, which split from L283 some 10,000 years ago, during the Early Neolithic. This branch is found almost exclusively in South Asia today, apart from a few reported samples from the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Arabian peninsula, Egypt). In all likelihood, it represents the descendants of Iranian Neolithic farmers toward the Indian subcontinent, although it can’t be ruled out at present that some clades migrated later from Iran, during the Chalcolithic period or the Bronze Age. ref

In Human Genetics, J2 haplogroup (AKA J-M172) is among the most frequent Y DNA haplogroups in the Middle East and in the Arab World. The geographic origin is believed to be in the cressant fertile (Iraq, Turkey and Syria) The age is estimated to be 18,500 +/- 3,500 thousands years ago See more details about J2 haplogroup in this page: Haplogroup_J2_(Y-DNA)

The origin of Y-DNA Haplogroup J maps to the Middle East around the ‘Fertile Crescent’, an area also known as the ‘Cradle of Civilization’ since this area saw the birth of many technological advancements that helped humans move from nomadic hunter-gatherers to an agriculture-based society living in one place. The sprouting of some the first cities and empires in human history were contingent on these developments and featured the proliferation of Haplogroup J. Y-DNA Haplogroup J is a descendent of suprahaplogroup F, which encompasses a large group Y-DNA lineages (haplogroups F-T, see Figure 3). Suprahaplogroup F is believed to have migrated from Africa approximately 50kya. Haplogroup J arose approximately 30kya (see Figure 4) and has been defined by a number of unique Y-chromosome polymorphisms; the 12f2a deletion and the M304 and P209 SNPs. The precise location for the origin of Haplogroup J is not known, but its prominence in the Near East/West Asia and the Middle East/Central Asia indicates that it likely arose in one of these regions. It is closely associated with the Fertile Crescent; an area spanning the Nile and Tigris/Euphrates River systems, with the Levant (present-day Lebanon) in between. This region has encompassed many early cultures and empires from the Stone Age (Neolithic) to the Iron Age and has also been dubbed the ‘Cradle of Civilization’. Societies, dynasties and empires in this broad region include the Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Phoenician and Persian. Haplogroup J is also particularly abundant in Anatolia (present-day Turkey) and the Y-chromosome diversity observed here suggests that this area is a possible source of this clade. Owing to these strategic locations, Y-DNA Haplogroup J is common on three continents: Asia, Europe and Africa. Middle East populations belonging to Y-DNA Haplogroup J migrated during or after the Neolithic era to Mediterranean regions and back to Africa; although this did not reach sub-Saharan regions. This spread contributes significantly to populations in European and African countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, this migration, also termed a “demic diffusion”, is believed to be the source of new agriculture practices, which included domestication of animals or pastoralism. It is also associated with sedentism or the custom of living in one place as opposed to the more mobile hunter-gatherer and nomadic lifestyle. Thus, the movement is tied to the rise of cities and city-states. While Y-DNA Haplogroup J is linked with this important Neolithic demic diffusion, additional migrations subsequent to this provided other diasporic episodes of this haplogroup and its subclades.

J2. M172.

The J2 subclade is similar in distribution to J1, but it is typically present at a higher frequency. J2 is distinguished from J1 by a lower frequency in Arab populations and the near absence in Africa. The J2 subclade is highest in Anatolia and prominent in Mesopotamia and the Levant – all areas that served as centers of agricultural revolution. J2 is common among Turkish, Kurdish and Jewish populations and significant frequencies are found in the Caucasus, Iran, and Southcentral Asia. TMRCA estimates for this haplogroup range from 4-15kya. J2 may be an important Y-chromosome lineage that was part of the demic diffusion and introduction of new agricultural practices into Europe from the Middle East and Anatolia during the Neolithic period. Anatolia could represent a Mesolithic pocket of the J2 subclade, which spread later to Europe in the Neolithic-Holocene periods (10kya) and subsequently featured in the emergence and progress of the Bronze Age (5kya). Prominent European areas of J2 abundance include the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, the Balkans and Greece. An interesting general feature is that J2 frequencies drop off considerably in the Northward direction. From the Balkan Peninsula, there is a drop in abundance moving into and beyond the Carpathian Mountain countries of Ukraine, Romania, and Hungary. A similar sharp drop-off between Nepal and Tibet is attributed to the geographic barrier of the Himalayan Mountains. In Russia, the J2 subclade is more frequent than J1, but because it is much lower than the neighboring Caucasus region (e.g. Georgia, Azerbaijan) to the South, there appears to be infrequent patrilineal gene flow from the Caucasus to Russia. The Caucasus Mountain Range may have been an effective barrier separating Russia to the North and the Caucasus to the South. See Figure 6 for the sites of these mountains. Tthe diffusion of the J2 subclade into Europe may have been by mediated by the Mediterranean Sea. The J2 subclade is abundant on several Mediterranean Islands: Crete, Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Korčula (Croatia). The frequency of J haplogroups can distinguish Mediterranean groups (North Africa) (Near East/Arabs) (Central/East/Lebanon) (West). Similarly, using STR data, three groups can be revealed (North African)(Arab/Palestinians)(Mediterranean/Italy/Sardinia). The J2 chromosomes in Crete are more similar to those found in Anatolia than those found in Greece when the DYS413 and other STR data are taken into account. This shows that there are sufficient genetic differences to differentiate the populations and it may represent multiple episodes of J subclade expansion and dispersal. The J2 subclade is abundant in Iran (30%), known throughout much of history as Persia. Studies support the introduction of this subclade here from Anatolia, with less contribution from the East in the direction of Pakistan. The barriers presented by the Hindu Kush mountains in Pakistan and deserts in Iran, may have limited gene flow from the East. The attraction of the fertile Mesopotamian valley may have favored the migration from Anatolia in the West, thus producing a general West to East migration pattern and spread of J2 into Iran. A genetic separation between the North and South of Iran may have also been aided by the deserts separating these regions. Furthermore, cultural alliances between Anatolia and Persia have been strong as exemplified by Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian and Ottoman Empires, lending support to the idea that there was a strong connection from Turkey, through Iraq to South Iran. It is quite possible that these empires aided the dissemination of Haplogroup J. The J2 subclade is abundant in India (2-20%), and its frequency peaks in the Northwest region. Anatolia is most likely the source of this subclade in India, again consistent with the West to East flow of J2. The date of this invasion points to a period during or after the Neolithic era. J2 lineage is also found in SW India with an interesting frequency trend: a higher fraction of J2 in the higher castes and decreasing amounts in lower castes. The J2a subclade is present in the Middle East and Southcentral Asia (~4%), the latter of which includes India and Nepal. In India, there is a general trend for increased J2a frequency in higher castes. It has also been found in Crete (1-2%).

J2a4h(10).L24 L25

This sub group has a wide distribution in the world. It is found in the middle East, North Africa, Europe, India and the amercias.

J2a4a. M47

The J2a4a subclade is found at low levels in Anatolia (1-4%) and Georgia (2%). In the Middle East, it has been detected at similar levels in Iran, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This appears to be a relatively low frequency J subclade.

J2a4b. M67

The estimated TMRCA is 9kya for the J2a4b subclade . This subclade is abundant in the Caucasus (Georgia 13%, Azerbaijan 4%) and is ancient group – TMRCA estimates at 12kya. It has also been found at appreciable levels (1-8%) in Anatolia, with preponderance in the Northwest as well as in Italy (~5%) and the Iberian Peninsula (2-3%). This has led to proposals for migration over land from Anatolia via the Bosphorus Isthmus or over the Mediterranean Sea. Notably, 10% of the Y-chromosomes on Crete are of this variety. J2a4b is also found in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and India. Significant frequencies (10-20%) are also found in Jewish populations.

J2a4b1. M92

Its distribution has been recorded in Italy (5%), Anatolia (~4%) and the Balkan Peninsula (~3%). Notable levels have also been located in South Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Northwest India. Its presence in Europe, may indicate that the Bosphorus Isthmus was a migratory route. Alternatively, the Mediterranean Sea could have been used for the spread of this subclade. It has been found in Ashkenazi Jews, but not Sephardic Jews.

J2a4b1a. M327

Little information is currently known for the J2a4b1a subclade, but it appears to a minor and infrequent subclade. It has been found in Konya in Turkey (<1%).

J2a4b2. M163

A minor J subclade, currently it has only been found at very low levels (0.2%) in Spain (non-Basques).

J2a4c. M68

J2a4c appears to be a minor subclade with low levels (1%) detected in Iraq and India.

J2a4h1a1a. M137

A limited set of studies have failed to detect this subclade and it appears to be a very minor subclade.

J2a4h2. M158

Modest levels (1-2%) of the J2a4h2 subclade have been uncovered in Anatolia, Pakistan and India.

J2a4h1a1b. M289

J2a4h1a1b appears to be a minor subclade. Currently it has only been detected in the Druze in Israel (5%).

J2a4h3. M318

J2a4h3 appears to be a minor subclade. Currently it has been detected in Israel for those of Libyan Jewish ancestry (5%) and among jewish population of Jerba island in Tunisia.

J2a4d. M319

The J2a4d subclade, defined by SNP M319, has been found in Crete (6-9%), which may be source of M319 subclade, as this subclade is infrequent and not found in many other areas. Presently, Israel is the only other location where this subclade has been found.

J2a4e. M339

The J2a4e subclade has not been studied extensively. It appears with a very low frequency in parts of Anatolia (1%).

J2a2. M340

The J2a2 subclade has not been studied extensively. It appears with a very low frequency in parts of Anatolia (1%).

J2a4f. M419

The M419 defines the J2a4f subclade. It has not been widely studied, and has been found at <1% in Northern Iran. Likely to be a minor subclade.

J2a4g. P81

Currently, no information is available for the distribution and frequency of this haplogroup J subclade.

J2a3. P279

Currently, no information is available for the distribution and frequency of this haplogroup J subclade.

J2b. M12, M102, M221, M314

The J2b subclade has a similar European distribution to Y-chromosome subclade E-V13 and TMRCA estimate (~4.4kya), which is consistent with a common route of dispersal. It is most prominent in Balkans, Greece and Italy (North and Central regions), reaching frequencies around 5-10%. Present day countries with the highest frequencies include Albania, Hungary, Greece and Macedonia. This haplogroup population may have moved through the Balkans and north into Europe via rivers, such as the Danube. It is present in Crete and the Iberian Peninsula, which could also indicate a spread by sea-faring routes in the Mediterranean. The J2b subclade is also present in Pakistan, India and Iran (3-4%). It displays a modest frequency in Egypt, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (1-4%) and Africa. These trends in Arab populations and Africa are reminiscent of the distribution of the J1 subclade and provides evidence that the several of the J subclades share some history in dispersal and expansion. Currently, no information is available for the distribution and frequency of this haplogroup J subclade. The J2b2 subclade is present in India, where it appears to have the highest frequency among the middle castes (Dravidian and Indo-European). Its overall level in India is ~5% and this frequency drops in half in neighboring Pakistan. J2b2 is also found in Nepal, but no J2b2 has been found in Tibet, providing strong evidence that the Northern spread of this subclade was prevented by the Himalaya Mountains. The J2b2 subclade is also present in Anatolia, specifically in the southern and eastern regions, which have been proposed as a source of J haplogroups for many regions. An interesting peak of the J2b2 subclade has been detected in Kosovar Albanians (~17%), whereas the J2b2 levels range from 1 to 4% in the Balkans overall. Within the J2b2 subclade defined by SNP241, there is a DYS455 deletion allele (8 repeats or DYS455=8) that is not found in the J2b1 (SNP M205) subclade.

J2b2a. M99

Currently, no information is available for the distribution and frequency of this haplogroup J subclade.

J2b2b. M280

The J2b2b subclade has so far only been detected in Greece (2%). It appears to be absent from surrounding areas and it is likely to represent a minor J subclade.

J2b2c. M321

Limited information is available for the J2b2c subclade and the information available so far has only shown it to be present in Libyan Jewish population in Israel (5%).

J2b2d. P84

Currently, no information is available for the distribution and frequency of this haplogroup J subclade. ref

So, it all starts in a general way with Animism (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (theoretical belief in mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item), which then enlists a full-time specific person to do this worship and believed interacting Shamanism (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employing of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (often a lot more nature-based than most current top world religions, thus hinting to their close link to more ancient religious thinking it stems from). My hypothesis is expressed with an explanation of the building of a theatrical house (modern religions development). Religion started rather female-centric but generally egalitarianistic and was so at least tell like after 7,000 and definitely by 5,000 and the birth of statism women fall in status but to me it’s 13,000 to 12,000-year-old proto-paganism goddess and animal gods that seem to come first I presume likely was driven from lesser earlier spirit beings/mythic ancestors, like a greater symbol of clan protectors in totemism which seems to go back like 50,000 to possibly 70,000 years ago which they already believed in from both proto-animism which seems to go back like 100,000 to ? years ago (possibly pre-human maybe as far back as 300,000? years ago) and further developed in shanimism which seems to go back like 30,000.

* “paganist” Believe in spirit-filled life and/or afterlife can be attached to or be expressed in things or objects and these objects can be used by special persons or in special rituals can connect to spirit-filled life and/or afterlife who are guided/supported by a goddess/god or goddesses/gods (you are a hidden paganist/Paganism: an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system) AndGobekli Tepe: “first human made temple” as well as Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” are both evidence of some kind of early paganism. early paganism is connected to Proto-Indo-European language and religion. Proto-Indo-European religion can be reconstructed with confidence such as the Gods and Goddesses, the myths, the festivals, and the form of rituals with invocations, prayers and songs of praise that make up the spoken element of religion. Much of this activity is connected to the natural and agricultural year, or at least those are the easiest elements to reconstruct because nature doesn’t change and because farmers are the most conservative members of society and are best able to keep the old ways. Goddesses: There are at least 40 deities although the gods may be different than we think of and only evolved later to the ways we know. Such as, how a deity’s gender may not be a fixed characteristic since they are often deified forces of nature which tened to not have genders. Among the Goddesses reconstructed so far are:*Pria, *Pleto, *Devi, *Perkunos, *Aeusos and *Yama. Myths: There are at least 28 myths that can be reconstructed to Proto-Indo-European. Many of these myths have since been confirmed by additional research, including some in areas which were not accessible to the early writers, such as Latvian folk songs and Hittite hieroglyphic tablets. One of the most widely recognized myths of the Indo-Europeans is the myth in which *Yama is killed by his brother *Manu and the world is made from his body. Some of the forms of this myth in various Indo-European languages are given in this article about the Creation Myth of the Indo-Europeans. The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from at around 6,500 years ago, the Kurgan hypothesis relating to the construction of kurgans (mound graves). The earliest kurgans date to the 6,000 years ago in the Caucasus and are associated with the Indo-Europeans. Kurgans were built in the Eneolithic, Bronze, Iron, Antiquity and Middle Ages, with ancient traditions still active in Southern Siberia and Central Asia. Kurgan cultures are divided archeologically into different sub-cultures, such as Timber Grave, Pit Grave, Scythian, Sarmatian, Hunnish and Kuman–Kipchak. Kurgan barrows were characteristic of Bronze Age peoples, and have been found from the Altay Mountains to the Caucasus, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria. Kurgans were used in the Ukrainian and Russian steppes, their use spreading with migration into eastern, central, and northern Europe in the around 5,000 yea5rs ago. Burial mounds are complex structures with internal chambers. Within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and chariots. The structures of the earlier Neolithic period from the 4th to the 3rd millenniums BC, and Bronze Age until the 1st millennium BC, display continuity of the archaic forming methods. They were inspired by common ritual-mythological ideas.Whereas, the Anatolian hypothesis suggests that the speakers of Pre-Proto-Indo-European to the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) lived in Anatolia during the Neolithic era, and it associates the distribution of historical Indo-European languages with the expansion during the Neolithic revolution around 9,000 years ago, with a proposed homeland of Proto-Indo-European proper in the Balkans around 7,000 years ago, which he explicitly identified as the “Old European culture“. This hypothesis states that Indo-European languages began to spread peacefully, by demic diffusion, into Europe from Asia Minor or Turkey, the Neolithic advance of farming (wave of advance). Accordingly, most inhabitants of Neolithic Europe would have spoken Indo-European languages, and later migrations would have replaced the Indo-European varieties with other Indo-European varieties. The expansion of agriculture from the Middle East would have diffused three language families: Indo-European toward Europe, Dravidian toward Pakistan and India, and Afro Asiatic toward Arabia and North Africa. Reconstructions of a Bronze Age PIE society, based on vocabulary items like “wheel”, do not necessarily hold for the Anatolian branch, which appears to have separated at an early stage, prior to the invention of wheeled vehicles. The Proto-Indo-European Religion seemingly stretches at least back around 6000 years ago or likely much further back I believe possibly an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref